Shaolin Soccer

Shaolin Soccer tells the story of Sing (Stephen Chow), a master of Shaolinquan Kung Fu whose goal in life is to let the world know about the benefits of the ancient art. He experiments with various methods to inform the modern world about shaolin kung-fu,some forms of informing including comedic song and dance routines, all of which bear no positive results. He then meets an old man called Fung (Ng Man Tat), who was a legenday soccer star in his days until his teammate Hung, now a rich businessman, paid him to shave his points. After missing the game-winning penalty kick, Fung's “golden leg” was broken by angry baseball bat-wielding fans (who was later learnt that they were actually hired by Hung) he never played the soccer again due to his disability. On the day that Fung learns the secret of his team-mate's treachery he meets Sing while in a drunken state in front of a shopping centre. Sing tries to explain his desires to promote the modern uses of kung fu to Fung who initially is unconvinced with Sing's idea and brushes off Sing's pleas. Then when Sing kicks a beer can thrown at him by Fung when he unknowingly insults him for being crippled, vanishes into the sky but the old man remains adamant. Later, Fung sees a huge crack in a wall some miles away, only to discover that it was caused by the very same beer can which Sing kicked earlier and is astounded when the wall breaks down when he removes the can due to the force of the impact which Sing kicked the beer can into the brick wall. When the wall falls down, he coincidentally witnesses a fight between Sing and a group of local thugs who often ridicule the Shaolin masters and their kung-fu. After Sing beat the gang in a one-sided fight, nearly destroying a brick wall just by kicking a soccer ball, Fung is hit with an idea and asks if Sing could use kung fu to play soccer. Sing likes the idea and agrees for Fung to become his coach.
Empty Hand uses his super speed to catch objects kicked at him.
Empty Hand uses his super speed to catch objects kicked at him.

Sing meets Mui (Vicki Zhao), a baker with severe acne who uses Tai Chi to make mantou. Despite her appearance, Sing regularly visits her throughout the film and even takes Mui to look at very expensive dresses at a high end department store (where he works as a janitor) after hours. She soon forms an attachment to Sing and even gets a make-over. However, this backfires when the excessive amount of make-up used gives her an almost clown-like appearance, leading everyone to jump and call her a ghost. When Mui reveals her feelings to Sing, he tells her he only wants to be her friend. This revelation, coupled with the constant bullying from her overbearing boss, leads Mui to disappear until later in the film.

Reuniting with his fellow Shaolin brother students (who have since led separate and busy lives), Sing and Fung attempt to put together an unbeatable soccer team albeit after much persuasion and initial rejection by the other brothers. However, Fung is keen on proving his skills, and in order to turn Sing and his players into real soccer athletes, he invites a vicious team consisting of local thugs (some of whom were beaten up by Sing not long ago) to play against them in a friendly (which turns out to be anything but) match; rather than scoring points, the thugs proceed to give the Shaolin team a brutal gang beating. When all seems to be lost, the Shaolin boys' powers reawaken and they win. A few of the defeated thugs even beg Sing to be allowed to join their team, meaning that the squad would have enough players to compete professionally.
The center forward of Team Evil prepares for his most powerful attack.
The center forward of Team Evil prepares for his most powerful attack.

Soon, Team Shaolin enters the professional soccer league in China where they chalk up successive (and often ridiculously one-sided) victories over teams who are, on paper, superior to Team Shaolin. Their next goal is to win the China Super Cup and to beat the notorious Team Evil helmed by none other than Fung's old nemesis Hung. It turns out that Hung plans to win the Cup by assembling a squad of players who have been injected with an American serum which grants them superhuman strength and speed, making them practically invincible. Team Shaolin, which had steamrolled their earlier opponents, are brought back to reality when Team Evil's amazing capabilities prove more than a match for them. At a critical moment, when Team Shaolin's goalkeeper 'Empty Hand' and his replacement 'Iron Shirt' are also severely injured during the match, Mui reappears to keep goal for Team Shaolin.

In preparation for his final and most powerful attack, Team Evil's center forward leaps into the sky and summons a dark demonic energy which turns the ball into a glowing orb. Mui slowly takes up the Tai Chi single whip posture to guard against the threat and channels her qi in the form of a Yin-yang symbol. When he kicks the fiery ball, it explodes towards Mui, but she leaps back and redirects the attack by twirling around and spinning it on her finger (much to the amazement of Team Shaolin). Mui and Sing then combine their martial power and rocket the ball down field with so much force that it creates a horizontal tornado which splays the ground and sucks up anything in its path. The ball plows through the goal post (stripping the clothes from Team Evil's goalkeeper) and destroys half of the stadium, winning the tournament for Team Shaolin. Coach Hung is stripped of his title of Soccer Chairman and sent to jail for five years, while Team Evil players are suspended from playing soccer in the professional league permanently. Sing and Mui fall in love and after the game, people all over the world begin to practice Kung fu, thus fulfilling Sing's dream. (from Wikipedia)